In Vietnam, coffee is mainly grown by locals in the traditional way. The state supports individual coffee cultivation and the operation of small family plantations by, among other things, regulating the allocation of cultivation areas. The coffee farmers lease their coffee fields from the state for around 50 years, with the government only allowing 1.2 hectares per household. On average, 2.5 tons of coffee can be produced on a plantation of this size. A full 95 percent of the coffee grown is exported and only around five percent remains for domestic use.
So far, it has been possible to keep large companies out of coffee production. For this reason, small family businesses in Vietnam often benefit directly from coffee exports. The government regulation of the cultivation areas and the exclusion of industrial coffee production make the introduction of seals such as "Fair Trade" obsolete for many small coffee plantations. Since the coffee farmers are not outplayed by major players on the coffee market, meaning that everything is fair anyway, there is no need to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to the products.
However, Vietnamese coffee is not just a speciality because the production conditions are often not determined by corporations. Vietnam also offers outstanding growing conditions that produce the highest quality and intense aromas. The mild climate with cool, humid temperatures that prevails in the central highlands is perfect for growing coffee. The mineral soil with its fertile volcanic earth takes care of the rest.
Traditionally, Robusta coffee (coffea canephora) has been grown mainly at altitudes between 500 m and 1,000 m. Robusta contains more caffeine and chlorogenic acid than the Arabica coffee that is popular in our region, which makes the coffee naturally stronger. In recent years, however, a change in the cultivation culture in Vietnam has been observed. The classic Arabica plant is increasingly being cultivated by hand at difficult-to-access altitudes. This has resulted in a greater variety of high-quality coffees, including so-called "blends" produced by combining Arabica beans and Robusta beans. The interaction of the aromatically mild Arabica and the strong note of the Robusta allows new aromas to establish themselves in the taste profile of Vietnamese coffee. Coffee cultivation is becoming more diverse, which means that the quality of the coffee is constantly increasing and at the same time the demands of local plantation owners for their beloved product are increasing.
Coffee cultivation in Vietnam takes place mainly in the central part of the country, the so-called Trung Bộ. Bordering Cambodia and Laos lies the central highlands of Vietnam (Tây Nguyên) with its fertile volcanic soils and peaks over 3000 meters.
The highlands are heavily agricultural and, despite their size (about two thirds of Germany), are home to just under six million people. They are home to most of the fruit, tea, spice and, of course, coffee growing areas .
This is also where the three coffee growing regions from which we at VietBeans mainly source our coffee are located: Lâm Đồng , Gia Lai and Đắk Lắk . Coffee is not only a passion here, but now also a tradition. That's why we want to tell you a little more about these three growing regions.
In the south of the country is the province of Lam Dong (Vietnamese: Lâm Đồng), which is popular with many tourists. Lam Dong is divided into ten districts and the autonomous Bao Lok. The provincial capital Da Lat (Đà Lạt) is also called the "City of Eternal Spring" and is one of the most popular travel destinations in Vietnam. The French colonial rulers loved the region and settled in numerous colonial villas around the city for summer holidays. These still make up part of the charm of the region today and have earned it the nickname "Little Paris of the East".
Lam Dong has beautiful waterfalls. The so-called "Valley of Love" and the "Lake of Sighs" are also tourist attractions. Lam Dong plays an extremely important role in tourism, as countless couples come here to spend their honeymoon in the province. Golf tourism is also becoming increasingly important and the indigenous hill tribes are being included in various tourism projects, such as village tours or trekking tours.
In Da Lat, you should visit the Lam Dong Museum, which provides a lot of interesting information about the history and culture of the province. Here, visitors can expect textiles, everyday objects, costumes, as well as artifacts and archaeological excavations. On a hill in Da Lat lies the Truc Nan Temple, which is surrounded by a beautiful garden and trees. The entire complex is 24 hectares in size, only part of which is open to the public (including the rose garden and a ceremonial hall). Also impressive is the gigantic golden Buddha statue, which is 20 meters wide and 24 meters high. The Buddha statue - naturally a visitor magnet - belongs to the Van Hanh Monastery and the pagoda, which was built in 1980.
Lam Dong and its capital Da Lat are not only known for coffee cultivation: “ Flower Garden ” in the city of a thousand flowers
In addition to the aforementioned name "City of Eternal Spring", Da Lat is also known as the "City of a Thousand Flowers". Over three hundred different types of flowers, many of which bloom all year round, attract tourists to the "Da Lat Flower Garden". In addition to the unique abundance of flowers, there are various Vietnamese accessories and decorations to admire, such as swan figures and bears. The Linh Phuoc Pagoda, which is also called the Dragon Pagoda because of its seven-meter-high dragon head, is very colorful and was built between 1949 and 1952 from glass and porcelain shards from over 12,000 bottles. Its richly decorated entrance columns and the 27-meter-high Dao Bao Tower are particularly impressive.
The highest waterfall in Lam Dong province is Dambri, near which there are smaller waterfalls and a village of the Ma minority. About 30 kilometers from Da Lat you can also visit Elephant Falls, which takes its name from a stone that looks like an elephant's head.
Many ethnic minorities live in Gia Lai Province, of which the Jarai are the largest group. In the particularly fertile surroundings of the provincial capital Pleiku there are numerous rubber tree and coffee plantations. At the same time, Pleiku is an important hub for the coffee and spice trade, as several important transport routes cross here, leading to Cambodia, for example.
The Kon Ka Kinh National Park, the Xung Khoeng waterfalls and unique rainforests are ideal for excursions. Numerous mountain villages of the indigenous peoples also entice visitors with traditional food and authentic folklore.
Gia Lai gained notoriety as a very contested province during the Vietnam War. In mid-November 1965, the first major military conflict between North Vietnam and the USA took place in the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley. Pleiku was heavily damaged in the war and subsequently rebuilt, which is why the city has no notable museums or sights and is hardly developed for tourism.
In the city of Pleiku, traditional street food dominates the cityscape and a visit to the famous market is a must. The city market opens early in the morning and locals offer a wide variety of local dishes (which include many oddities for Europeans) and typical handicrafts. Due to the proximity to Nha Trang and the sea, a lot of seafood is eaten. Typical fast food chains, which can now be found in all major cities in Vietnam, have not been able to establish themselves so far and in many cases have had to close again after a short, unsuccessful period.
In Pleiku, it is worth visiting the surrounding indigenous villages and the Jarai cemeteries, which impress with their artistic wooden sculptures and elaborate mortuary houses. Anyone wishing to visit the Bahnar and Jarai villages needs a guide and a permit, which is due to protests by minorities in 2001 and 2004.
In Bien Ho, the volcanic origins of the Gia Lai region can be impressively understood at the spectacular volcanic crater lake. The Dong Xanh water park with fossil trees is also worth a visit.
The Minh Thanh Temple promises a lovely stay and is worth taking some time to visit. The temple is popular with locals who pray in the impressive setting. Also worth seeing is Dong Nhi, a cemetery where unborn children find their final resting place. About 15 minutes from the center of the provincial capital is T'Nung Lake, where you can take some impressive photos.
The province of Dak Lak (Vietnamese: Đắk Lắk) was almost completely depopulated by the Vietnam War and therefore had to be completely repopulated. Coffee production also began anew - successfully!
Today, almost half of Vietnam's coffee-growing areas are located in Dak Lak. In addition to the coffee plantations, rubber and tea plantations characterize the landscape.
Popular destinations in Dak Lak are Lake Lak, Chu Yang Sinh National Park and the Nam Kar Nature Reserve. The small villages around the provincial capital Buon Ma Thuot, which lies in the middle of spruce and pine forests in the central highlands of Vietnam, are ideal for day trips.
A visit to one of the countless coffee houses in Buon Ma Thuot is a must to try fresh Dak Lak Coffee. Preferably the way the locals like it best: sweet, strong and on ice with condensed milk (the so-called Ca Phe Sua Da) . Coffee with yoghurt is also very popular, which the locals call "sua chua ca phe". Even more unusual is the so-called egg coffee or phe trung, for which condensed milk and egg yolk are beaten and then the coffee is added .
If you want, you can visit the elephant village of Buon Don from Buon Ma Thuot, as the so-called Mnong people were once known for taming and hunting wild elephants. The Mnong mainly caught young animals because they were easier to get used to people and taught them various commands so that the animals could pull wood and carry loads, among other things. Nowadays, hunting and catching the animals is no longer allowed for good reasons.
The Dak Lak Museum in the provincial capital is also highly recommended. It offers a very good insight into the flora and fauna of Dak Lak and has a comprehensive collection on the 31 ethnic minorities in Dak Lak. Another attraction of the museum is the gong collection, as gong music was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.
Around 20 kilometers south of Buon Ma Thuot there are bizarre rock formations and the Trinh Nu waterfall plunges into the depths. In order to consolidate the value and position of Vietnamese coffee, the “Coffee Festival” takes place every year in Buon Ma Thuot under a changing motto.
In our own brand VietBeans, we combine the coffee varieties Arabica and Robusta to create high-quality blends with a typical Vietnamese taste profile. Our Arabica beans come from Cầu Đất in the highlands of Đà Lạt and grow and thrive there at 1600–1900 m above sea level. Our Robusta beans are grown in the area around Buôn Ma Thuột, which is located in the Đắk Lắk province in the central highlands of Vietnam.
We work exclusively with small family businesses locally, to whom we guarantee fixed prices well above the world market level even before the harvest. This way we ensure that everyone along our value chain benefits.
Our Arabica beans are a real rarity on the coffee market. On the steep, difficult-to-access slopes in Cầu Đất, only small harvests can be harvested by laborious manual labor, which is why our Arabica beans are not only of exquisite and rare quality, but also do not contain any unripe or defective beans.
Our Robusta beans are also a rarity on the coffee market and are far above world market levels in terms of quality and price. Unlike on large commercial plantations, our coffee farmers in Buôn Ma Thuột rely on fully grown coffee bushes that grow up to 8 meters tall. In conventional coffee plantations, Robusta bushes are always pruned at low heights to make harvesting easier, but this damages the quality of the beans. This means that our farmers have to harvest the ripe coffee cherries "from top to bottom" along the seven to eight meter tall trees over weeks. A tough job that we pay well for and that produces exquisite quality.
In addition, our Robusta is grown exclusively in mixed crops on changing fields. In addition to coffee, mangos and bananas also thrive. We are in close contact and regularly admire these beautiful small family plantations. Of course, the taste of the end product also benefits from this care: hot Vietnamese coffee in your home!
In terms of taste , our blend, the mixture of both types of beans , offers a strong, yet refreshingly fruity drink with hints of caramel and dark chocolate and nuances of hazelnut and almond.
We make no secret of the fact that the beans for our Hello5 coffee come from different regions of Vietnam and that Hello5 is a large Vietnamese coffee company that, in our opinion, produces top-quality coffees. The fruity aromas and intense scent of Hello5's complex blends are particularly noteworthy. Most of the coffee beans used come from Buôn Ma Thuột in Dak Lak Province. Two of Hello5's Arabica varieties, which are included in Hello5 "Mondo", for example, grow there in one of Vietnam's finest coffee-growing regions at an altitude of around 1,500 meters. All Hello5 coffee beans are hand-picked and carefully processed to the highest quality standards.
